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Understanding the Legal System for Family Law Matters: Difference between revisions

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There is no rule that says that you must have a lawyer represent you in court. Although a court proceeding can be complicated to manage and the rules of court can be confusing, you have the right to represent yourself.  
There is no rule that says that you must have a lawyer represent you in court. Although a court proceeding can be complicated to manage and the rules of court can be confusing, you have the right to represent yourself.  


If you do decide to represent yourself in a court proceeding, you have a responsibility to the other parties and to the court to have a general understanding of the law that applies to your proceeding and of the procedural rules that govern common litigation processes like document disclosure and discovery and common court processes like making interim applications. Reading through the rest of this chapter and the chapter on [[Resolving Family Law Problems in Court]] is a good start. You might also want to read a short note I have prepared, [[Media:SRL_Bill_of_Rights_and_Responsibilities_-_November_2012_-_JP_Boyd.pdf|The Rights and Responsibilities of the Self-Represented Litigant]] (PDF).
If you do decide to represent yourself in a court proceeding, you have a responsibility to the other parties and to the court to have a general understanding of the law that applies to your proceeding and of the procedural rules that govern common litigation processes like document disclosure and discovery and common court processes like making interim applications. Reading through the rest of this chapter and the chapter on [[Resolving Family Law Problems in Court]] is a good start. You might also want to read a short note i've written for people who are representing themselves in a court proceeding, [[Media:SRL_Bill_of_Rights_and_Responsibilities_-_November_2012_-_JP_Boyd.pdf|The Rights and Responsibilities of the Self-Represented Litigant]] (PDF).


==Page resources and links==
==Page resources and links==